Caldwell University Names Don O’Hagan Chief Information Officer

Caldwell, NJ – February 4, 2013 – Caldwell University today announced that Don O’Hagan of Upper Saddle River has been named Chief Information Officer (CIO). In this critical position, O’Hagan is charged with developing, executing and managing the computing and information technology strategies for the college. The role entails executive oversight of all technical systems and capabilities for the college, as well as business relationships with third party service providers. His responsibilities as CIO will begin immediately.

“We are very pleased that Don is leading our IT team,” said Dr. Nancy Blattner, president of Caldwell University. “He brings exceptional expertise and skills bridging corporate, non-profit and higher education. Our students and employees will benefit immensely from his talents and strategic vision in advancing technologies on campus.”

O’Hagan has 30+ years of executive leadership in technology, educational publishing and partnerships with cause related non-profits. He has a proven track record in successfully organizing functions, building strategies, applying technology in creative new ways and effectively managing costs.

“I’m thrilled by this opportunity,” O’Hagan said. “I’m looking forward to working with the administrators, faculty and staff to help make Caldwell University the model for technology enabled higher education.” As CIO, O’Hagan will implement policies for employees, contributing to increased data security and ensure the best IT tools, software, equipment, and telecommunication devices are being used to help the college to reach their goals and manage the entire technology ecosystem.

Technology is playing an increasingly critical role in higher education and learning. Digital information, mobility and on-line learning are fueling demands for robust and secure technical capabilities. The fast-changing systems are often delivered in partnership with third party suppliers to keep pace with state-of-the-art innovation and optimize return on investment. Resulting capabilities empower learning for students and boost the productivity of back-office operations.

O’Hagan is former executive from the technology reference industry where he was responsible for publishing leading imprints for authoritative and cutting edge technical and professional information. As editor-in-chief at Pearson Education, he managed imprints that include: IBM Press; Addison-Wesley Professional; Adobe Press; Cisco Press; and Prentice Hall. As senior vice President, technology investment at Pearson plc, O’Hagan was responsible for maintaining global technology supplier relationships and aggregate vendor requirements and centralizing decisions in a federated deployment model. He established enterprise-based contracts that enabled operating units to select suppliers at negotiated prices based on global spend. Agreements existed for hardware, software, telecom, carrier rates, and outsourcing services, including Microsoft, IBM, AT&T, Sprint, Adobe, SAP, UUNET, Computer Associates, and NEC.

As vice president at Pearson, O’Hagan also served a critical role in delivering enabling technology solutions throughout Pearson businesses worldwide. He introduced client server technology to the company and is credited with designing and engineering the first patented interactive voice response system (Prompt+Plus) while pioneering adoption of advanced and emerging telecommunications technologies.

O’Hagan also held senior management positions at AT&T, ITT and Simon & Schuster.

He lives in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey with his wife and family pets.